Applying physical input-output analysis to estimate land appropriation (ecological footprints) of international trade activities

In the last few years some studies have been presented, which link land use accounting and input-output analysis (based on monetary input-output tables (MIOTs)) for the calculation of direct and indirect land appropriation of production and consumption activities. The compilation of the first comprehensive physical input-output tables (PIOTs) for some western European countries in the 1990s opened new possibilities for linking physical accounting and input-output analysis. Using a physical multiplier for this kind of calculation is more appropriate, as the most land intensive sectors are also the sectors with the highest amounts of material flows. Physical input-output analysis illustrates land appropriation in relation to material flows of each of the sectors, which is more appropriate from the point of view of environmental pressures than land appropriation in relation to monetary flows of a MIOT. Physical input-output analysis has so far not been applied for any land-related studies. Based on a physical input-output model of the EU-15, physical input-output analysis is applied in this paper, in order to calculate direct and indirect land requirements for the production of exports from EU-15 to the rest of the world.